When Disaster Strikes, Is Your Building Emergency Plan Ready?

People tend to assume that emergencies won’t happen in their building…despite regular reports of fires, floods, blackouts, and other disasters. But here at Duthie Power, we’ve helped our fair share of businesses through emergencies—and we know they can happen to anyone.

So, while we’re mostly just at the scene to supply emergency backup generators, our facility manager clients have a much bigger job: ensuring everyone stays safe and sound. How do they do that? By implementing an effective building emergency plan. Since lives often depend on this building emergency plan, creating it can seem overwhelming. But don’t worry—OSHA has a fantastic, thorough how-to guide, with a nifty e-tool for making your own building emergency response procedure.

In addition, this thorough guide to home fire safety contains many helpful tips for both home and facility managers. But before you dive into the details, get the big picture with our quick, no-frills intro to building emergency plans:

Create Your Evacuation/Shelter Plans—and Make Them Easy to Follow

Different emergencies require different plans; for instance, evacuation itself isn’t always the safest route if the chief danger is outside the building. OSHA’s evacuation procedures e-tool guides you through the process of creating your emergency power plans with questions such as:

• How will building inhabitants be alerted and instructed during the emergency? Which method will be most effective?
• Who are the evacuation leaders (those who will take charge of safety procedures during an emergency)?
• When should all employees evacuate immediately?
• Who (if anyone) should initiate and complete critical operations shutdown procedures?
• How should you identify and clearly mark exit routes?
• Who is authorized to use fire extinguishers, and in what circumstances?
• Who has special needs, including “invisible” conditions like asthma, that might surface during an emergency?
• Which employees can perform medical or rescue duties?
• Where should employees gather?
• How will you account for all employees and visitors?

Answering these questions via an effective safety plan can save lives, so don’t delay—pop on over to OSHA!

What is a Safety Culture?

A phrase that is used more and more by businesses is “safety culture.” But what does that mean? Duthie Power’s Service Manager, Johnny Bradford, explains, “When I started at Duthie Power as a Generator Technician, we certainly were aware of safety practices and encouraged to be as safe as possible in our work. After all, when you’re working with electrical equipment and flammable materials, the risks are high. When I transitioned to the Administrative side as Duthie Power’s Safety and Quality Assurance Manager, I focused on creating specific standards and a universal framework for our safety culture. From printing more specific emergency exit signs and implementing company-wide trainings dedicated to fire safety, workplace violence, and CPR, to name a few, to creating a Safety Recognition program that publicly acknowledges staff for being safe. I tried to tackle safety from every angle to demonstrate to staff that safety isn’t just expected, it’s prioritized.”

Of course, a safety plan is only good if it’s followed—so once you’ve created it, ensure that everyone in your building is well-trained on their role in the emergency power plan.

Post Your Emergency Phone Number List

Everyone knows to call 911, but building facility emergencies often require more specific assistance, too.

Since the last thing an emergency situation needs is people frantically trying to look up the numbers of the gas utility/insurance company/fire department/ambulance/water provider/etc., fill in this simple emergency contact sheet and post copies in highly visible, heavily accessed locations throughout the building.

Prepare Backup Power

Many businesses require backup power during an outage or other emergency. So it’s a no-brainer to install a backup generator.

But don’t rest on your laurels then—have your generator regularly serviced by experienced professionals, or it could fail just when you need it most.

This (unsurprisingly) is where we come in.

As one of the oldest and largest commercial generator businesses in Southern California, we’re here to supply, maintain, and repair your emergency power supplies so that you can depend on them during whatever emergencies come your way.

To find out more about our services, request a quote or give us a call at 1-800-899-3931. We’d love to chat with you!